
Qass L_j 

Book lI. 



. M / 



GODS CHOSEN RULER: 



BY 



E E Y. ROBERT H . WILLIAMS 



-^^GOD'S CHOSEN RULER." 

DELIVERED ON A 

DAY OF NATIONAL HUMILIATION AND PRAYEK, 

IN THE 

PRESBYTEIIAN CHURCH, 

OP 

FREDERIGli CITY, MD., 

BY TSE PASTOR, 

Rev. ROBERT H. WILLIAMS. 



FREDERICK, MD. 

SCHLEY, KEEFER & CO. 

1865. 



,8 



.W'7 



CORRESPONDENCE. 

FREDERICK, June 67H, 1865. 
KKV. ROBERT H. WILLIAMS: 

Dear Sir, — The undersigned, thinking that the circulation of the sermon de- 
livered by yon on the day of National humiliation and mourning, would be use- 
ful, request a copy ior publication. 

G. EICHELBERGER, 

E. H. ROCKWELL, 
WM. RAYMOND SANDERSOI^, 
THOMAS M. MARKELL, 
SAMUEL R. HOGG, 
JONATHAN TYSON. 



FREDERICK, Jdnb 8th, 1865. 
0*tUkMen,^l am consciouB, that the following discourse is not worthy of the 
oocaeion which called us together. I defer to your judgement and give a copy 
for publication. 
To 6. Bich«lberger, and others. With respect, I am yours, 

ROBERT H. WILLIAMS. 



^'For itioas his from the Lord:'— 1st Kings, 2, 16. 

These are tlie words of Adoiiijah, who was at this tinia 
plotting the overthrow of Solomon, for the purpose of occu- 
pying the throne himself. Adonijah, after failing in soma 
of hit plans, seeks to marry Abishag, thereby, gaining her 
friends and relations to his side. But he could not get pos- 
session of Abishag without the consent of Solomon. This 
he thought he could get, through the interposition of Bath- 
sheba, his mother, '^n his speech to her, Adonijah insinu- 
ated that the kingdom was his by right of primogeniture, 
and that he had been in possession of it by the consent of all 
Israel." This however was false for it was Solomon's from 
the Lord, and Solomon the people favored. But he meant 
to induce Bathsheba to compassionate his case. To make a 
merit with her of peaceably receding from his claim, and 
that she might not suspect any ill design, he, at length, con- 
ceded that it was Solomon's from the Lord. Although these 
words were uttered by a man whose heart was full of deceit; 
yet they were true words. Solomon's right to rule was from 
the Lord. Solomon saw through the designs of Adonijah, 
and was fully convinced that he was aiming to overthrow 
him. ' 'He perceived him still restless, aspiring, and schem- 
ing, ' ' To show the inefficacy therefore of every application in 
his favor to convince Bathsheba of the impropriety of the re- 
quest, and to declare the necessity of his death in order to se- 
cure public peace, and the establishment of his authority, he 
spoke with great earnestness and decision. He declared, 
^'As the Lord liveth, who hath established me, and set me on 
the throne of David, my father, and who hath made me a 
house, as he hath promised, Adonijah shall be put to death 
this day. And King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, 
the son of Tehoiada, and he fell upon him that he died." 
Solomon felt that government cannot be secure, while they 
who aim to subvert it remain unpunished, and such as hav^ 



'been convicted of treasonable designs are proper persons t© 
be sacrificed for tlie public good^ and for an example to oth- 
ers. ** Apparent severity to them may eventually be mercy 
.sto thousands." As we come to contemplate the virtiies, and 
mourn the death of Abraham Lincoln, let us remember that 
vGod placed him in the Presidential chair. We caai say (but 
not with the same spirit) as Adonijah said of Solomon, **It 
tvas his from the Lord." We may all use this language to- 
day in sincerity. And the traitor, who has been brought to 
grief, and who now lies in the |>rison, whose name is not 
worthy of mention, feels, whether lie acknowledges it or not, 
tbat, our President's right to rule was from the Lord. When 
we consider the complicated machinery of society we see many, 
multitudes of agencies at work to bring about results. Men, 
acts, words, thoughts, emotions, all work and inter work to 
make history what it is. 

If the secret emotions of a single conspirator had been dif- 
feremt from what they have been, the whole dreadful plan, 
which they had formed^ might have failed. If we remove 
the most insignificant agency in a good enterprise, it may 
fell altogether. It is apparent then, from what we have 
feaid, thaA ^very man is acting a part in the great drama of 
history. Every man helps to make history. All his labor, 
;and conduct, and thoughts, and emotions, in some way, as- 
sist in making the course of human events just what it is. 
Whatever position we occupy, whether it be obscure or con- 
spicuous, low or high, is a position which tue must occupy, 
oi* some other, who will think, and act as we do to 
make history what it is. God may have placed each one of 
lis here to do one little act, or to speak a single word, at the 
time when the act or word will tell most for His glory and 
the interests of society. Some times men are a long time 
in training, before they are fit to do what God intended they 
should do. Then every pain they feel, every delay they expe- 
riience, every lesson they learn, in short, every little circum- 
stance and event in life, prepares them for their work. — This 



is true of us; but it is especially true of God's iustrumeuts 
for great good. Joseph folt tliis, wlien in Egypt lie declar- 
ed to his guilty brothers, ^'It was not you that sent me 
hither, but God." When Moses had been forty years in 
Midian, forty years after he thought he had been called to 
the work of a deliverer^ then the Lord appeared unto him 
and said_, ^^And now come I will send thee into Egypt." We 
cannot tell what lessons he learned in his sojourn in Midian; 
but no doubt, every day added to his preparation for the 
work, which God had for him to do. In a wonderful man- 
ner has G-od trained many men of this land for the work 
which they have performed. Now he develops their powers 
by pain, now by great labor, now by trial. Now in this 
way and now in that. Look at Washington how his char- 
acter is beautifully moulded by the efforts of a mother. By 
this thing he is taught stability. By that thing he learns 
to persevere. All the elements of a noble character are de- 
veloped in him in the school to which God sent him. 
And the Am^erican people saw them in him^ Avhen they 
called him to be the Chief Magistrate of the Nation. 
All the victories he achieved, and all the defeats he 
met with, and all the anxiety he endured prepared him for 
the work, which God had for him to do. And this is true 
of the great man whose loss we mourn to-day. He was won- 
derfully fitted by trial, for the great duties he was called on 
to perform. God took him and trained him. He was training 
him when some in our midst were ridiculing him, and when 
they were using the vilest language concerning him. God 
ihad a work for him to do, and he prepared him for it, by 
want, by labor, by anxiety, by defeat. In the school of 
poverty, in early life, he learned useful lessons. In the 
-school of labor he obtained a good physical development, 
which did much to sustain him in the arduous duties to 
which he attended. He knew what was in the heart of tho 
masses, for he had felt the same himself. He deeply sympa- 
thized with them in their wants and distresses. He did not 



"bend to circum.stances, Lut erect and firm he sto^d, while tlie 
great billows of ckjst ruction rolled around him. He did not 
fear to take^ and also, to defend a position. If he had been 
less firm in the management of the national affairs, we, people 
and ruler, would have gone down together. But he looked 
out upon the storm, and with a steady and firm liand at the 
helm of the Ship of State guided us into the quiet w^aters of 
peace. He was deeply conscious of the great diflicultics 
which environed him, as can be shown by his annual messa- 
ges and all his proclamations. Listen to some of his words, 
taken from his message for 18G5: "The occasion is piled 
high wdth difficulties, and w^e must rise with the occa- 
sion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and 
act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall 
save our country. We cannot escape history. We of this 
Congress and this Administration wall be remembered in 
spite of ourselves. No personal significance nor insignifi- 
cance can spare one or anotlier of us. The fiery trial througli 
which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the 
latest generation." Noble words are these, showdng that he 
was conscious of the part he was acting in the great events 
which were transpiring. They show tod, that he did not 
want his name to descend to posterity wdth a stain upon it. 
Eight w-ell has he preserved it from the least tarnish, and 
men will look upon it as one of the few immortal names, that 
are never to be forgotten. The restoration of the National 
authority stood all the years of the war before his mind. 
Multitudes of evils appeared to him, as they did to others, 
to be connected w^ith . the dismemberment of the Union. 
With a firm reliance upon God, he undertook the difiicult 
task of preventing the separation. And what a task he had? 
Spies and enemies thronged the National capital. Every 
department sw^armed with men of treasonable inclinations. 
Throughout the North there were many traitors at heart. 
Washington for a time w^as in the enemy's country, and all 
communication from the North and West cut off. What days 



/if agony and su.s])cnsc wore tlioyol Tlieii a mighty [xjoplcj at^" 
this man's call, rose to their I'cct, and from that day they 
have heen growing more and more poAverful. The Na- 
tion had a sort of intuitive knowledge that he wa» 
the man for great undertakings. He rose more rapidly in 
the confidence of a mighty people than any man of any age, 
or any country. He soon acquired a knowledge of the work 
that was to he done. He soon had a comprehensive percep- 
tion of the duties which devolved upon him. He early de- 
termined that every thing that stood in the way of the restor- 
tion of the Union should he removed. One great hindrance 
to his efforts, which stood up like a giant, and gave strength, 
to the military power of the South, was Slavery. He de- 
clared ^'I will save the Union if I can with Slavery; hut if 
not, Slavery must perish, for the Union must he preserved." 
Years ago it hecame the foundation of a political party. In 
this party sprung up the great political heresy that primary 
allegiance was due to the State, a secondary one only, to the- 
United States. Then soon another theory, that Slavery was 
a divine iuvstitution grew- up. And that power, controlled 
by such doctrines, continued to domineer up to the time they 
made war upon us. Abraham Lincoln saw that if the cor- 
ner stone of this new power was removed, the building 
would fall. But the country was not ready for his 
proclamation of freedom, when he saw its necessity. But 
he prepared the public mind for it, by his message in 
March 1862, when he recommended a joint resolution^ 'Hhat 
the United States ought to co-operate with any State, which 
may adopt a gradual abolishment of Slavery, giving to such 
State pecuniary aid" as a compensation for its loss. But 
Btill the war went on. He still held to his former convic- 
tions, and the people of the loyal North were gradually 
prepared for a more decided utterance on the subject of free- 
dom. So in January 1st 1863, he issued a proclamation 
emancipating all Slaves within the insurgent States. Mr. 
Lincoln looked upon it as a necessity and it shaped after re- 



suits most wonderfLilly. It put one or two luuidreJ tliou- 
sand brave and gallant troops into our army, and weakened 
the South to the extent of upwards of a million. Mr. Lincoln 
was raised up to act in such an emergency as this, and he' 
felt that he was merely an instrument in the hands of God, 
for after he had done it. he said, ^ 'The Nation's condition 
God alone can claim." How much he had to discourage 
him! The giant power of the enemy, a divided and troub- 
led North, incompetent officers to command our armies, de- 
feat on land, reverses on the sea, and a depleted treasury met 
his gaze. On he went, however, to his work. He toiled',- 
and prayed, and wished, and hoped, as no other man has 
done duriug our troubles. He went forward, notwithstand- 
ing, that even many churches withheld their encourage- 
ment, and many ministers absolutely refused to pray for 
him. He felt that he was raised up for a great and glori- 
ous purpose, and that when it was accomplised his work 
was done. For this great work every struggle, and pain, 
and anxiety, and effort prepared him. To save our Coun- 
try, arid to give it to us with but one flag waving over us 
and one Constitution binding us together, was his great 
work. Noble, heroic soul, pure-minded, large-hearted pa^ 
trio.t, how shall the nation rightly perpetuate the memory 
of his honorable deeds? We mourn to-day that he ha» 
been taken from us. But while we bend over his grave, we 
are reminded that his work is done and well done. Cheered 
by this thought, tJianJc God! loe cry^ thank God! loe shouty 
that he gave him to us and spared him so long. Slavery went 
down, we say, to save the Union. Down it went in accord- 
ance with the wishes of multitudes. Down it went against 
the wishes of many. The people of the South, themselves, 
could not prevent this measure; but really accelerated it, even 
before our armies had overrun the South, making the free^ 
dom of the slave certain, the Congress of the so-called Con- 
federate States, by the consent and advice of Gen. Lee, made 
as many free as entered their military service » Mr. Lincoln 





Wcis raised up to be our ruler^ while all the great principles 
of our Goverainent were put to the tetet* One of those princi- 
ples which has been maintained and set in a new light, is the 
principle of civil liberty. Wc have, ever since our existence 
as a nation, declared that ''all men are born free and equal.** 
But this was practically denied at the South, not because it 
was not regarded as true; but because a system of Slavery 
had been entailed upon them, which the wisest knew not 
how to abolish. It is indeed quite a new view of the institu- 
tion of Slavery when it is called divine. The people of the 
South who have reaped the largest fruit from the institution 
years ago, thought it should be limited, aud indeed abolish- 
ed as soon as possible. Gen. Oglctlirope wrote as follows in 
1733: ''My friends and I settled the colony of Georgia and 
by charter were esi^ablished trustees to make laws. We de- 
termined not to suffer Slavery there. We would not Buflfer 
Slavery, which is against the Gospel, as well as the funda- 
mental law of England^ to be authorized under our authori- 
ty." But we are told that the Slave merchants got the ad- 
vantage over them and secured the favor of the English gov-^ 
ernment. The Assembly of South Carolina in 1760, passed 
an act forbidding the importation of Slaves. The act, how- 
ever, was annulled by the royal veto. In 1772, the Virgin- 
ia Assembly petitioned the king on the subject of the slkve 
trade, in the following language: "We are encouraged to 
look up to the throne and implore your majesty's paternal' acf- 
sistance in averting a calamity of a most alarming nature. 
The importation of slaves into the colonies from thle coast of 
Africa, hath long been considered as a trade of great inhtj- 
manity, and under its present encouragement, we have too 
much reason to fear will endanger the very existence of your 
majesty's American dominions. Every one familiar with 
the history of the Declaration of Independence knows what 
language was used by Jefferson in its first draft. He called 
it piratical warfare. When he first took his seat in the first 
legislature of Virginia, under the new Constitution^ he intro- 



10 

■clnced a bill aimed at SIj^Vo the iiaJcj and the impoj iatidry 
<[\f .slaves into Virginia, From the dawn of their existence 
WEi1/il their separation from the motlier country, did the 
American colonies mai^itain an im wearied, though unavail- 
ing, struggle with the crown on the question of S]aver3^ 
^Tom tlie the time they took tbeir stand as one independent 
government up to within a few years, have tli^y been oppo- 
sed to the wjiole system. The best men of VirgiMa have 
reasoned that ' 'Slavery was inconsistent witTi • Chri^ianity, 
was in conflict with the rights of man; tbat it w»s a slow 
poison, daily contaminating the minds and morals of their 
;pcople, that by reducing a part of their own species to abject 
inferiority they lost the idea of the dignit}^ of man, which the 
hand of God had implanted iu tliem for great and useful 
j)urposes." Such was the opinion of men in other days ir& 
the South, but they were unable to effect a change. The 
war has resolved the difficulty, the great difficulty, and Mr„ 
Lincoln has declared to the world that the slave is free. 
The subject of Slavery will no more disturb our National 
council«. 'Tis true, the requisite number of States has not 
voted that Slavery shall be abolished. They may do it soon, 
or they may not do it at all. Their votes, as it seems to us, 
will effect the general result, but little. The nation has 
heard the wish of our murdered President and will not act 
contrary to it. If he had lived we would have followed his 
counsels; but much more now, when he has offered up his 
life for the sake ot the principles he cherished. If the blood 
of thousands of soldiers who have fallen in this great war 
was not sufficient to secure civil liberty to all the inhabitants; 
we all feel that Mr. Lincoln at least, must be the price of 
freedona, ,,When the negro is spoken of hq will be called the 
fxeedraan and not the slave as heretofore. 

Great results will now follow the establishment of our 
Union and the abolition of Slavery. Our halls of Legisla- 
ture will bo cleansed from much pollution. Men who have 
trampled on the rights of human nature, who have enfeebled 



11 

a'nd entiia-ginlslied every lil)ei-al sciitinieiii In their own bcarfM, 
alien wlio huve been pctt^'- tyrants, lording it over their lol- 
^.ows will not, for years at least, bo found enacting our laws. 
A new class of men and as w^e trust, a purer, nobler set will.- 
now take the charge of our affairs. We expect for years to 
come, men like diose of '76, pure, high-minded men, wlio 
will lead us on from one step to anotlier^ in vsafety and honor^ 
Already has God shown to us who are to be his instruments 
for good to this land. A ncAV set of men seem to have been 
brought to the surflxco* This mav bo said of our Legislative 
Halls, and of the comm^inders of our armies. Some men, 
who have been great among us, have given place to others, 
who, before the war, were living in obscurity. God has 
brought them forward, and we boast of many who have made 
themselves a name within the last four years. When 
we turn to the South we find many of their great men rapid- 
ly passing into obscurity, and falling into dishonered graves, 
and none coming up through their troubles, into promi- 
nence. That fact of itself shows that God's hand was against 
them, and is in contrast with the North. The maintainauce 
of great sins cannot make great men, and the South shows it 
to-day. No longer will the two principles, State sovereign- 
ty and American Nationality be in conflict. Just before the 
war broke upon us in all its fury, we found our treasury 
emptied, our credit destroyed, our army demoralized, and 
our navy dispersed over the world. State after State in 
quick succession, charmed with the heresy of State sovereign- 
ty declared itself separated from the Federal Union. Then 
feebly, timidly w^ere uttered these words by the Nation's 
representative, *'The States have no right to secede; but no- 
body has any right to prevent them." Between the election 
of Mr. Lincoln and his inauguration, the months seemed 
long and dreary. Then such questions as the followmg .forced 
themselves upon our attention, as the cloud grew thicker, 
and the angry elements threatened destrucion: Is our N«a- 
tiouai life a mere bubble? Are all our hopes and the hopes 



12 

of millions in otlier lands to be bhisted? Alter a tiaii.siiury 
existence must free institutions fall into decay? Sliall tliiw 
land, to which so many eyes are turned, become so corrupt, 
and oppressed, and ruined that men shall flee from it as 
though plague or pestilence were resting upon it? Those were 
dark days through which we passed. Patriotism seemed to 
be asleep, and for a time it seemed as though we would fall 
to pieces by our own inaction and sloth. At length the 
traitor arrangements were complete. At early morn of a 
clear April day scarcely before it was light, the first shot 
was fired at Fort Sumter. It went booming, and booming 
and booming over the land. It seemed as though every man 
in the giant North heard that shot. Then came the call of 
the mighty dead. Then was seen the brave boy, stirred by 
a noble emotion, hurrying home to gain a mother's consent 
to go to sustain the Nation's honor. The big tears started, 
and her heart was wrung with grief as she gave her consent. 
**There was weeping upon the threshold of his old mother's 
home as he started off. In one hand he held the bible, her 
parting gift; and with his other, clasped around his dear 
mother's neck; she breathed upon him her farewell prayei', 
and sobbed the benediction of the saint upon his head. And 
away he went to the field of strife." And the husband camo 
home after hearing the news. He had a troubled look. 
**What now?" his wife asks. ''The country is struggling 
for its life,'' he says. ''The dear old flag has been fired up- 
on and the Capital is in danger. The country wants men. 
TThousands are responding 'we come, we come,' and I too 
must go." Then he says, "Wife, can you spare me for a lit- 
tle, for a few months only?" He takes up his little ones one 
by one, and kissing their tender cheeks sets them down 
again. He asked God, in an agony of prayer for direction. 
**Husband," said his noble wife, "you know the path of du- 
iy. If God bids you go Heaven will care for both you and 
your loved ones here." All night he pleads with God for 
hiB counsel. In the morning he read, "The Lord is my 



13 

^sliephcrd, I .sliall m>l wtint," uml Luwy fur tlic la.sL iinie 
around the family altar, and gets strengih from (Jod. He 
rises a noble, christian man, a patriot. ''Farewell!" he 
said, and gave the last kisses and went forth to hold up his 
country's flag. Thousands of such sights were witnessed, 
because of the conflict which existed bctw^een some of the 
States and the Federal Government. After years of strife 
we have taught every rcbclliaus State, that they have no 
right to secede, and that they owe paramount allegiance to 
the Federal Government. After this we shall have more re- 
iigion in our politics, and no doubt, more of what some false- 
ly ^tyle politics in our religion. The Government and the 
Church have grown nearer together during the war. Law 
and religiow cannot be divorced. There is a sacrednesy 
about our National emblems, which will permit them to be 
Uisplayed in our most sacred places. The minister may 
lift his voice boldly for his Country without fearing to be 
called a stuznp orator or politician. The minister that ig- 
nores his Country eitlier through fear of offending, or be- 
cause of his own little love for her, will be invited to attend 
to his duties in a more spiritual clime. He might do for a 
people who need no civil law to control them, but certain 
we are, the majority of right-thinking men are beginning to 
feel, that they are not the men for these times and this 
country. But I must hasten to close. Funeral eulogies U])- 
on the character of our President have been pronounced in 
every city and town in the loyal States. A sad and solemn 
procession has moved from the National Capital to his form- 
er home in Springfield, 111. Approach ye admirers of his 
greatness and behold him now. IIow pale! How silent! 
''No admiring throng weep and melt and tremble at his 
words." A shroud, a coffin, a grave, are all that remain to 
him here. But are these all he now possesses. No! There 
is something beyond life which we trust he is now enjoy- 
ing. He felt his dependence upon God and frequently ex- 
pressed it. When he left his home for Washington, in a 



11 

public address, lie said, '4 hope you, my friends, will all 
pray that I may receive that divine assistance without which 
I cannot succeed; hut wdth which success is certain." Mr. 
Gladstone, an eminent English Statesman, said to another, 
^^Mr. Lincoln's recent address on his inauguration, showed 
a moral elevation which commanded the respect of every 
right feeling man. I was taken captive by so striking an 
utterance. I see in it the effect of sharp trial when rightly 
borne to raise men to a higher level of thought and feeling 
than they could otherwise have reached. It is by cruel suf- 
fering that nations are born to a better life, and to individ- 
uals a like experience produces a like result," We believe 
he knew in what arm to find the strength he needed. 
Not long ago he was asked if he loved Jesus, our only hope 
for eternal life. It is said he buried his face in his handker- 
chief and w^ept. He then said, "When I left home to take 
this chair of State I was not a christian. When my sou 
died, the severest trial of my life, I was not a christian; 
but when I went to Gettysburg and looked upon the graves 
of those who had fallen in the defence ot the Country, I then 
and there consecrated myself to Christ. 1 do love Je- 
sus." He died as we humbly hoi)e a christian. Great and 
good deeds for our nation made him great among us; but 
being a christian is all that can make him great in heaven. 
His deeds are worthy of being inscribed upon the heart of 
the Nation. He is deserving of a monument reaching to the 
skies. His example is worthy of imitation. His hope in 
Christ should be our hope. May we all, individually, 
when we come to die have it to say, in the language of God's 
chosen instrument for good to us, ^^1 do love Jems." 



>^: 



